A Brief History of the Equestrian Military: By 1st Lt Dragoon Sabre
by Dr-Lovekill
Summary: A short history of the military of Equestria, as written by one of its officers. This work is canon mixed with some fancanon and headcanon, but is probably an accurate representation of military structure in Equestria. Covers the history of the Equestrian army from before Celestia took power until the modern day.
1. Chapter 1: Prelude to Modern Warfare

**Chapter One: Prelude to Modern Warfare**

In many ways, it is an unfortunate fact that war has existed since the beginning of history, and that it has existed in such forms and with such alarming regularity that pony-kind has required the existence of organized armies in one form or another since nearly the beginning of written history. On the other hoof, one can hardly recount the history of Equestria, nor speak of the government or lands of our great kingdom without mention of our military in some way or another. Without our armies, our land would be left defenseless to our countless enemies, and no doubt without an armed force to resist outside invasion and internal strife, we would not be able to enjoy the relative peace we do today.

In the centuries before the age of Celestia (about 500-50 B.C.R.), there was no unified pony military. In fact, this was not to occur until the formation of the Kingdom of Equestria in the year 5 Before Celestia's Reign. In this classical time, each race had its own army, distinct to its pony type, and serving the purpose of defending only the lands and holdings of each race. Because of this fact, uniforms, equipment, tactics and organization varied greatly between the three races.

The Pegasi military, under such powerful leaders as the fabled Commander Hurricane (45 B.C.R.-32 A.C..) built quite possibly one of the strongest true military organizations of the classical era. I say 'true' military organizations in the sense that they used weaponry and tactics to achieve their goals in a military setting. The unicorns had their own forces, but used predominately magic during combat, and their strategy of amassing their best and most adept in phalanx formations, and welcoming all-comers is indicative of a purely defensive type of force, and their reliance solely on magic, and that solely as a standoff weapon means that they had little or no true combat experience. The pegasi however, had long adopted armor and weapons as a means to combat their enemy, and their army was a well-known and feared one.

As of about 200 B.C.R., the pegasi had achieved the perfection of armor and weaponry in the field. Their black iron breastplates and crested helmets gave them a fierce look in battle, and served their intended purpose of protecting the pegasi from the blades and projectiles of their enemies. Of this armor, the breastplate was of blackened iron, and about one quarter of an inch thick on average. This cuirass was of one piece, secured across the girth with a thick strap and buckle. Two holes on the back allowed for the breastplate to be fitted over the wings. On the chest was affixed a seal or device dependent upon the legion the soldier belonged to, and its material and size denoting rank.

The helm was of the crested type, also made of thin blackened iron, and interestingly enough, was the primary way of displaying rank within the pegasus army. The typical soldier wore a combed morion-style helmet of iron, with a steel brim riveted to the crown, which would have provided excellent protection from sword, spear or pike. Officers and field commanders wore a more ornate helmet of the galea type of thin, black iron, with a black or red crest. Higher officers' helmets had silver accents on the outer rim of the helm, as well as on the crest holder. Field commanders and generals had gold accents on their helmets, and junior officers seemed to have worn a basic galea without the inclusion of precious metals.

The pegasi seemed to prefer the kind of short, double-edged sword known as a gladius, the linear ancestor of the short swords or main battle swords used by the military today. All pegasi soldiers from the common soldier to the highest general all seemed to have carried a sword, with some officers and commanders having ornate gilded swords made for their own use by competent and well-known swordmakers such as Lightningsteel the Hammerhoof. In addition to the gladius, each soldier would have carried two spears. Combined with their ability to fly, this combination of armor and weaponry made the pegasi the most powerful military force of the period.

It should be noted that to this very day, the Royal Guards of Princess Celestia still wear armor similar to that of the pegasi of the classical period, albeit of gold, serving a more ceremonial purpose now than a martial one. The night guard also wears a modified form of the type of armor mentioned here, and closer in color and material to the original, though not in appearance.

The earth ponies of the classical era had possibly the most colorful and noteworthy uniforms of any military in the classical era, but unfortunately few examples have survived to this day intact, and we draw conclusions about materials, color and construction from paintings, historical accounts, and scraps of fabric found in excavations. It appears that the army of the earth ponies wore little or no armor, and instead wore a more ceremonial uniform, even in battle. It is known that officers and commanders wore a large white ruffled collar, and a baggy uniform of earth-tones secured with a heavy brown belt, and a wide-brimmed hat of wool felt. Common soldiers wore a similar uniform, omitting the large collar, and almost theatrical style of clothing worn by their leaders, but from what we can tell from period paintings and tapestries, still used a style of uniform no modern soldier would ever consider wearing into battle.

Most depictions have the common earth pony soldier wearing a doublet with peculiar puffed shoulders, the garment being almost candy-striped in earthtone hues of tan, brown and yellow, with some, even more colorful depictions having some of the doublets shown in stripes of green, yellow red and brown. Their headgear consisted of a conical felt hat with a narrow brim, offering virtually no protection from enemy weapons. Their weaponry consisted of halberds, and a strange weapon called a godendag, which was essentially a long wooden club outfitted with iron spikes and hooks. If the pegasi were the most efficient fighting force in the classical period, the the earth ponies were without a doubt the most inventive and unique.

After the founding of Equestria by the three races, military structure, uniforms, armor and tactics went through such a frantic and ever-changing transitional period, that to attempt to make any sense of the chaos would be almost impossible. It appears that the three races, now joined together in harmony, influenced each other in a way that they used to combat one another. It is apparent that the earth ponies and unicorns began to adopt armor at some point in that hundred year period, did away with it, then re-adopted it for specific applications, while the pegasi began to slowly do away with it altogether. Weaponry began to evolve as well as they shared ideas about military tactics, weapons design, and superior metallurgy.

After the crowning of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, there began a modernization of military practice. The Royal Guard was founded early on, and included Unicorns, Earth Ponies, as well as Pegasi. The rest of the military was still in a sort of limbo, and fell into almost disuse for a few decades, shrinking the number of true soldiers to somewhere around five hundred (Not including Royal Guards, which at the time numbered about the same), and for a short period of time from about 15 A.C.-65 A.C., Equestria attempted to make do with what amounted to a militia system. In times of war or internal anarchy, each town or city supplied a certain number of soldiers for the general defense. After the fighting was over, these citizen soldiers would return to their homes and peacetime occupations.

This system of civilian militia was not to last very long. Following several incursions into Equestria by Griffons and Dragons, as well as internal strife brought on by changes in the government and social structure, it was decided that Equestria was in need of a larger and more professional army. At this time, the military began to grow and improve in training, equipage and armament from about the year 65 until about 100 A.C.

By that time, the Royal Army of Equestria had grown into a respectable force of some 4,500 ponies. This was divided up into three regiments of heavy cavalry made up of 600 ponies in each regiment. Wearing cuirassier-style armor and helmets and carrying large double-edged swords, these regiments were the primary defense units of Equestria during that time. Additionally, three regiments of Unicorn Guards were created, again with each regiment mustering about 600 ponies. Of the remaining ponies in the military, 600 more were pegasi, members of two 300-pony units who served the purpose of aerial shock troops. About 300 more were archers, divided up and placed with other units. This phase in military structure took root, and with little war or internal strife, didn't change for almost another one thousand years, until after the War of the Two Sisters.

_Author's Note: Note that this is not technically a sequel to The Drake Chronicles stories written thus far. Instead, this is supposed to be a work written by Drake sometime after Volume 3 and before Volume 4. Now with Dashie, Lieutenant Drake took some time off after the events of Volume 3 to help Rainbow Dash recover from her injuries, and to settle down himself. In this time, he began to pen this work, which was published shortly before the events of Volume 4._

_I hope that you all enjoy this work, and though it may be a while before Volume 4 is posted, at least you can be sated with reading a work by Drake himself. Please review with any questions, comments, or advice. I especially look for advice from military personnel and historians out there, and anyone who knows alot about canon military matters I may overlook. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading, everypony._


	2. Chapter 2: The Paradigm Shift

CHAPTER 2: The Paradigm Shift

_I'm finally back with chapter two. I had a very busy weekend, and wasn't able to write any at all. I hope you are all enjoying this pseudo-history of the Equestrian Military. For this chapter, I drew from canon very heavily. Most of the events in this chapter are mentioned on the show, and as a military historian, I drew my own inferences as to what the army was doing in those situations. I haven't changed a single thing from how it was told in the show, just added some background to the events. I hope you enjoy. Please review, everypony._

Starting in the year 1009 A.C., the Equestrian military went through one of the most drastic periods of change since its conception by the harmonization of the three races. This change was precipitated by two major events in Equestrian history which both left their mark not only on the kingdom's standing army, but on the whole of Equestrian history. That is to say The Battle for the Crystal Empire, and The War of the Two Sisters. It was at this time that we begin to see a more recognizable structure inside the military as a whole, and begin to see branches and units emerging which are identifiable as the linear ancestors of the various units, regiments and branches we have today.

The year 1009 brought a previously unheralded need for a fast, efficient and mobile military force to the very doorstep of the Princesses as well as the military commanders. It was in that year that Equestria sought to relieve the despot King Sombra from his throne over the Crystal Empire, following a long rule of despotism and tyranny. In fact, the subjects of Sombra had appealed for help numerous times, and it was only after the situation in the Empire had gotten so out of hoof that it began to spill over into the surrounding lands, that Princess Celestia decided to come to the aid of the ponies of the small kingdom.

Sombra had used his dark magic and necromancy to build a large and formidable army comprised mainly of conscripts suffering from mind-control techniques, as well as reanimated corpses and even a contingent of spectral wraiths under his direct control. This fact alone proved to be a tactical nightmare for the Equestrian military. His top lieutenants were nearly as versed in dark magics as their lord, and by the time Equestria responded to the potential threat from the small dictatorship in the northern provinces, it was almost too late to even begin to combat Sombra's legions.

The first units to arrive in the vicinity of the Crystal Empire were the 1st Pegasi Legion, supported within three hours by the Royal Household Cavalry. They bivouacked on a large snowbound hill approximately four miles from the border of the Crystal Empire to await the arrival of more troops. Just before dawn, the encampment was attacked by a small contingent of King Sombra's brainwashed slaves, a scouting party numbering 100 soldiers, under the command of a Captain with the impressive name of Stormheart the Black Skull. The raiding party hit the outer defenses of the Equestrian forces, and caught completely off guard, the Household Cavalry and the Pegasi lost about 95 of their number, and were on the verge of being completely routed until another column of cavalry, troops of the Princess' Guard Cavalry (Not Royal Guards, but the cavalry unit), arrived on the scene and turned the tide in favor of the Equestrian army. At the end of the battle, the Equestrian forces had lost 108 ponies, while Sombra's small party lost 73 of their number.

By the end of the day, the two cavalry units and the 1st Legion had been reinforced by The 1st Unicorn Guards, 600 of the best Unicorns in the military at that time, and a battery of 60 archers. A detachment of 50 Royal Guards also joined the mass of troops, and hoping to capitulate on their earlier victory, the large force moved toward the Crystal Empire. The 2nd Pegasus Legion, another 100 archers, and the 2nd Unicorn Guards were still a day away, and instead of awaiting the remainder of the invading force, the body of soldiers, struggling under both adverse weather conditions and quibbling between three commanders over who was officially in charge, decided to attack early.

This was the second mistake made during the operation, if one counts the fact that the Equestrian army was sent in piecemeal to within striking distance of the Crystal Empire. Once the large and somewhat disorganized invading force had crossed into Sombra's country, they were met by a desolate country stripped of everything that could be used as food or shelter. King Sombra, now fully aware of the number and intents of this force, had ordered every small town and village between the border and the capital burned, and all food and provisions either taken back to the capital or destroyed in place. It was long known that King Sombra had a habit of destroying his own lands to deprive any enemy of supplies, and this scorched earth policy was now turned fully upon the Equestrian Military. Inside the still-smoking shell of a former town, the mass of troops, some still recovering from their battle earlier that morning, found themselves at the brunt of an attack spearheaded by Sombra's Black Guard Cavalry under Commander Gallows. At the same time the Black Guard was striking the left flank of the Equestrian forces, King Sombra's Royal Necromancer Guard, a force of 200 Unicorns, attacked from the right.

The area the Equestrian forces found themselves in was bad ground, but the commanders attempted to make the best of a bad situation by fighting to a series of small rises outside the city, and using the shells of the buildings as cover. The 1st Pegasus Legion was able to inflict many casualties upon the Black Guard, but the Necromancer Guard were proving impossible to attack. Twice, the combined cavalry forces attempted a charge into the enemy Unicorn position using the arrows of the archers as cover, and twice they were repelled, suffering 150 dead and another 60 wounded. The Royal Unicorn Guards, outnumbering the Necromancer Guard almost 3 to 1, found themselves deadlocked with the dark magic-wielding enemy by the end of the day, and by nightfall, both forces settled into more defensible positions.

During the night, Stormheart the Black Skull returned, re-outfitted and restocked with an additional 30 zombified commoners, bringing his guerrilla force back up to about 60 ponies. Even with such a small number of troops, Stormheart may have had a certain X-Factor in the battle; his troops were deadened by mind-control magic to feel no fear or panic, to be completely subservient to the will of their commander, and to not stop fighting until they were physically incapacitated or killed. With these shock troops, Stormheart attacked the rear of the Equestrian position in a committed assault no doubt designed to drive the enemy into the waiting Black Guard and Necromancer Guard below.

This may have occurred, had the irregular captain Stormheart not overestimated the ability of his own force, and underestimated the number of enemy, being completely unaware or foolishly discounting the archers and the Royal Guards, who were actually positioned at the rear when he attacked. This oversight on his part may have been the determining factor in his defeat and demise. The attack almost broke through the Equestrian line by sheer force, but Stormheart didn't have the ponypower to keep up the mindless assault, and his troops were killed to the last. King Sombra fancied war as a game of chess. If it were so, then it was at this point that Sombra lost his first important piece. His raider chief, Stormheart the Black Skull fell toward the end of the battle, some say pierced with 9 arrows.

By dawn the next day, the two armies were still entrenched in their positions, each side waiting for the other to mount another attack. This was an unfortunate side-effect of both sides' military experience and strategy, as the Equestrian Military was trained predominately in the defensive role, and seemed to not be able to grasp the idea of attacking and pressing the enemy. King Sombra's forces on the other hoof were quite capable in offensive warfare, but used a blitzkrieg method of fighting. They were used to engaging smaller, less-trained forces, and overwhelming them with sheer numbers and brute force. In other words, King Sombra used his army to virtually bowl over opponents in one fell movement. Once they found themselves engaged with an enemy that had large numbers, good weapons and of equal martial ability, the ponies under Sombra became somewhat confused and simply stopped fighting. Their lightning-fast strikes by huge bodies of troops, once stalled, quickly lost steam, and now both sides simply held their positions, awaiting reinforcements or for their adversaries to make a move.

This fact no doubt troubled Princess Celestia and Enraged King Sombra. Both rulers pressed the remainder of their forces forward, in hopes of being the first to break the static nature of the battle. In fact, the Equestrian army was in essence besieged, and running low on supplies. Sombra's army still has a steady stream of supplies coming in, and no doubt knew that all they had to do was wait out their enemy.

Both reinforcement parties met each other on the border as they rushed to aid their beleaguered comrades. The 2nd Pegasus Legion and the 2nd Unicorn Guards, supported by 100 archers and 25 more Royal Guards, all under the command of a cousin of the Princesses' mother, Prince Blueblood the first, met Sombra's relief army of some 300 reanimated corpses, 150 brainwashed peasants, 50 Household Unicorn Guards and a troop of 100 cavalry in a snowbound valley on the border, about 5 miles from the siege. There, they fought a particularly intense battle lasting 6 hours. Sombra's forces attempted to use the land to their advantage and assault the Equestrian line from several points at once. The Equestrian forces outnumbered their enemy, and had superior air support, and were able to break free of the enemy's attempts to trap them in the frozen valley.

From there, the battle moved toward the burned out town, and by that evening, the line of battle extended some mile or so across the edge of the town. That day's engagement left the Equestrian army with 119 dead and 23 wounded, and Sombra's forces suffered 256 dead, and 39 wounded. It should be noted that more than half of the dead were the zombie ponies. The remaining forces were now facing each other across a distance of about 400 yards, their troops spread out in almost parallel lines stretching 1500 yards, the flanks of both sides refused, or turned inward. That night, Princess Celestia herself arrived on the Equestrian line with 100 additional Royal Guards and 20 archers, along with 50 of Princess Luna's elite batpony Night Guard.

Under the leadership of their monarch, the Equestrian Army broke camp and silently began to pull out of their positions, feigning troop buildup, and making Sombra's commanders poise themselves for a morning attack. By dawn, King Sombra's forces realized that they were now facing empty hills and deserted positions, and after wasting two hours forming up and breaking camp themselves, they began to pursue Celestia's forces across the tundra toward the capital. Now a race was on, with Equestrian forces moving on the largest city in the Crystal Empire with a 6 hours head start, while Sombra's forces gave chase at an unheard-of speed. Princess Celestia knew they would race after her army, and allowed the pursuing enemy to play into her plan.

In a valley 8 miles from Sombra's throne, the dictator's vanguard force, his massed cavalry found themselves ambushed from the heights on either side of the ravine. Celestia had placed the 1st and 2nd Unicorn Guards on the highground, and as Sombra's cavalry galloped into the valley, already tired from their forced march, Celestia's Unicorn Guards attacked. At this moment, the 2nd Pegasus Legion swooped in from above, and in the course of 30 minutes, Sombra's cavalry was all but wiped out. Knowing that the zombies would be last in line, Celestia then marched her forces another three miles toward the capital, turned, and marched two miles to the left, turned again and countermarched her army back toward the border. As Sombra's forces marched toward their capital, they actually passed the Equestrian military moving the opposite direction, only two miles to the west, masked by a moderate snow. When the timing was right, Princess Celestia split her forces, and personally ordered her Cavalry and half of her Royal Guard to attack the rear of the enemy, and her Pegasi and archers, along with the Night Guards to assault the brainwashed soldiers further up the line. The gamble worked. Caught completely off guard, Sombra's forces were scattered. His reanimated dead were dispatched quickly, and the cavalry charged forward, attacking the rear of the Necromancer Guards in a dramatic assault that terrified and put to rout the normally steadfast unicorns.

Sombra watched as what remained of his once proud army came retreating back into the city. Now left with only 50 or so of his unicorns, his homeguard of 100 of the brainwashed and 100 zombies, and his force of personal guards, some 200 strong, King Sombra knew he was going to be on the defensive. He immediately set about adding to his army of reanimated corpses by using his dark magic to raise every dead pony in the local cemeteries, and equipping them with cheaply produced spears. He pressed an additional 100 citizens into military service, taking control of their minds and causing them to arm themselves with whatever weapons they could muster. King Sombra then virtually cleared his castle of every available guard, servant, and every military officer and adviser he had under his command, arming them and placing them in the city, between himself and his advancing enemy.

Now Sombra had an army of 300 zombies, 20 wraiths, 50 unicorns, some 250 soldiers and guards of various types, and 200 brainwashed ponies, half of which were armed with everything from kitchen knives and sticks to rusty swords and broken bottles. The King gave them their orders; to fight to the last, to hold their ground against any force that may come against them and to die protecting their lord. This may be seen as a final act of futility on Sombra's part, but it must be remembered that the tyrant King was possessive of a great magical ability himself, and did not care how many of his subjects had to perish so long as he met his goals. In all fairness, Sombra probably believed that he could still win, that perhaps his small ad-hoc force could keep the enemy in check long enough for him to use his magic to destroy his enemies in detail.

Once again, he underestimated the foresight of his adversary. Princess Celestia expected a final resistance upon entering the Crystal City, and allowed Sombra to make his preparations. It was not Sombra's army Celestia sought to destroy, but Sombra himself. So as her army halted, just outside of the city gates, staring down the dark king's forces, Celestia put her plan into motion. As her army pressed toward the city, Celestia's sister Princess Luna had made her way to the city from the southeast, followed by 100 Night Guards and 25 pegasus archers. At the appearance of the Princess of the Night, Celestia took flight and joined her sister in a pitched battle with King Sombra himself. Not expecting to be personally attacked by both princesses, or at least not until after the final battle, a short and anticlimactic magic duel took place between the princesses and Sombra. Using a powerful spell, Celestia and Luna stripped King Sombra of his physical form, leaving only a conscious shadow, and sealed this form in the arctic ice.

With Sombra gone, his magical hold over the Crystal Empire was broken. The reanimated corpses fell dead where they stood, the wraiths vanished, and his hypnosis wore off of his brainwashed subjects. The victory was a short-lived one, however. It appeared that King Sombra had boobytrapped his own kingdom with a powerful spell that tied his own life force with the very existence of the kingdom and its subjects. With Sombra now gone, the Crystal Empire was rocked by earthquakes and the Equestrian soldiers barely managed to escape before the entire city disappeared into the frozen landscape.

This event caused the monarchs to rethink military strategy and training, and reforms were made in the three years following the short war. All unicorn warriors now had to study dark magic, and how to defend against enemies wielding such spells, and how to defeat them in magic duels. The cavalry was trained more in offensive operations, and the 3rd Pegasus Legion was formed. It was also during this time that Princess Luna requested a larger force of Night Guards. Princess Celestia had a compliment of Royal Guards numbering 500, but Princess Luna's Royal Guard on the other hoof had always been smaller, numbering about 200. Because of the bravery of the Night Guards in the War for the Crystal Empire, Celestia allowed her sister to increase the number of her elite guards to 450.

What Celestia didn't know was that her sister had ulterior motives for increasing her own household guard. Over the last two hundred years, Princess Luna had become deeply jealous of her sister. Because most ponies conducted their business and pleasure during daylight hours and slept at night, Luna felt her duty of controlling the night was being disrespected by all of her subjects. She had approached Celestia about this numerous times, but the solar princess did little to curb Princess Luna's grievances. The more time wore on, the more angry Luna became about the fact that nopony cared about the night. At a certain point, her anger and jealousy got the better of her, and she began to plot a coup. With more personal guards and joint control of the military, the princess of the night made her move.

On the night of June 20 in the year 1012, Princess Luna raised the moon, and put her plans into motion. The next morning, as Princess Celestia prepared to bring the day, Luna barged into the throne room with 150 of her guards close behind. These were the guards who had agreed to help their princess with her overthrow of Celestia. Luna refused to lower the moon and allow Celestia to raise the day, and vowed to bring eternal night to Equestria. What followed has become known as The War of the Two Sisters. Princess Luna and her followers, consisting of one third of the Night Guard and a small contingent of soldiers under the command of Major Moonlit Glen attempted to wrest complete control of the royal palace in the Everfree Forest from Princess Celestia and her forces. In the magic duel between the two alicorns, the palace was partially destroyed, and Celestia, seeing no other option, used a powerful spell to banish Princess Luna, sealing her on the moon. Luna's followers, hundreds strong, enraged over their beloved monarch's banishment and the destruction of their dreams to create a New Lunar Republic, took up residence deep in the Everfree. There, they declared secession from Equestria, then declared formal war on Equestria, vowing that unless Celestia released Luna and allowed them to form their lunar republic, they would conduct guerrilla warfare on the subjects of Celestia.

The princess, still emotional over the confrontation with her sister, and angry with the threats toward innocent civilians, dispatched 200 Royal Guards, The Household Guards Cavalry, The Royal Guards Cavalry, and the Royal Unicorn Guards into the forest to track down and eliminate the secessionists. The military located the military and civilian contingent of the Lunar Republicans and during a short battle, all of the dissidents were killed. The Equestrian forces lost 72 of their number. Seeing their forces defeated and fearing for their own lives, the 150 Night Guards who stood behind Luna surrendered to Princess Celestia. In what has been called the one and only dark spot on her 2000 year reign, Celestia had all 150 of the guards executed for high treason. Thus ended the War of the Two Sisters.

Afterwords, Princess Celestia decided it was time to revamp the military as a whole. To the princess, the casualty numbers in the War for the Crystal Empire were far too high, and the war with her sister's supporters had taught Celestia that she needed a military with a better structure and well-defined hierarchy. So with all of this in mind, and surrounded by personally-chosen military advisers from all branches of the Royal Military, Princess Celestia sought to do the impossible, to essentially gut the existing army and rebuild an entire military system from the ground up.

_I will try to have the next chapter up tomorrow afternoon sometime. I hope you liked this one. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! _


	3. Chapter 3: Changes

**CHAPTER 3: Changes**

_Another day, another chapter. I hope you're enjoying this fic so far. I've put a lot of research into this account, and I hope it shows. I especially had to do a great deal of research into the Wonderbolts for this chapter, and if I got anything completely Bass-ackwards, I apologize. So here is chapter three for your reading pleasure. Enjoy, everypony._

After losing so many soldiers in the War for the Crystal Empire, and suffering the embarrassing attempted coup at the hooves of her sister Luna and her followers, Princess Celestia began a reconstruction of the entire Equestrian military starting in the year 1014. There were several strategic and logistical problems to be addressed that probably would not have been brought to light had it not been for the last two successive actions.

The major problem with the military in their war with King Sombra's forces was one of numbers. The Kingdom of Equestria by the beginning of the war was over 400 times larger than the Crystal Empire in land, and on top of that, Equestria boasted a population of 111,500 ponies, with only about 6500 attached to the military in one fashion or another. In contrast, the Crystal Empire had a population of only 23,000 ponies, with nearly as many soldiers as Equestria brought to bear against them. This told Celestia that her kingdom needed more soldiers, and it needed them badly. It was easy enough to recruit soldiers for the army, but where to place them in a military that boasted only two regiments of unicorns, two of earth ponies, and three of pegasi was the problem. New units would have to be formed.

In the units already in existence, the Princess saw another problem. There was no specialization. The two heavy cavalry units were outdated in terms of structure, weaponry and tactics. Instead of massed forces colliding on the field in single combat with armor and swords, it became apparent that Equestria would be fighting small fiefdoms, and their engagements would be against guerrillas, rebels and warlords, something massed heavy cavalry was not operationally suited for. Weaponry had changed as well, with virtually all modern armies now employing archers and crossbow-ponies. What Equestria needed were many different types of military units with different operational specialties. Fortunately, several military officers who had fought in the war against Sombra had many ideas on how these units should be formed and employed.

One such officer, Captain Batista believed that the cavalry ought to be employing the use of long spears, or lances against enemy formations. This would give them an advantage in mobile combat, while at the same time allow them to act as guards in time of crisis, much like the Royal Guards with their own spears. Another officer, Captain Banister Tailington believed that the cavalry being used only as hard-charging heavy troops was too archaic for modern warfare, and submitted his proposal that several new cavalry regiments should be raised as Dragoons, light, mobile troopers who were armed lightly, trained extensively, and could act as cavalry or regular soldiers depending on the battlefield situation. Colonel Lighthorse of the Household Cavalry on the other hoof argued the need for heavily armed and heavily armored cavalry for the purpose of overwhelming the enemy in classic charges into their lines, and refused to do away with the old method of fighting, even if the rest of the military did. Much can be said about each of these officers, their battlefield experience and their personal lives, including Colonel Lighthorse's obsession with breeding poodles and Tailington's often unrestrained and brutal approach to enemies on the battlefield. They each probably expected the princess to agree with their own individual ideas, and believed they had the franchise of good ideas. Once again, Celestia's foresight prevailed, and in the end, she proved them all right.

It was legislated that a minimum of six new cavalry regiments would be formed within ten years. The Household Cavalry under Colonel Lighthorse became the 1st Cuirassier Regiment. They were to be outfitted with new steel breastplates and helms with large ornate ridges and red crests, and allowed to keep their heavy, double-edged swords. After another year, the 2nd Cuirassier Regiment was raised, and was outfitted in much the same way, save for the red crests on their shining steel helmets. The Cuirassiers would be used henceforth as heavy household cavalry, the solution to a problem that had not presented itself. Each regiment of these armored cavalryponies boasted 300 troops. Though used in several separate engagements over the next 1,000 years, cuirassiers never realized their founders' dreams of massed armored charges against armored opponents in the field.

The Royal Guard Cavalry was divided in half, and rebranded the 1st Regiment, Royal Equestrian Dragoons and the 1st Royal Lancer Regiment respectively. The new dragoons regiment's ranks was quickly filled, and within five years, the military boasted 6 dragoon regiments. The lancers never enjoyed such popularity, and at the peak of lance-mania, only three regiments were ever created. This number was reduced to two within 600 years. Two more cavalry units who appeared around this time bore the fanciful names of The Royal Household Hussars, later named the 1st Royal Hussars Regiment formed in 1020, and the 1st Equestrian Chasseurs Regiment, formed in 1022.

The Pegasi legions were reorganized as well. Starting in 1016, the First Legion became the 1st Aerial Assault Wing, and the 2nd Legion became The 1st Aerial Reconnaissance wing. Using some regiments of pegasi for assaults and others for scouting and recon missions became the norm, and within 8 years, the number of units had grown to six. This included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Aerial Assault Wings and the 1st and 2nd Reconnaissance Wings.

The Unicorn units were remolded as well, and the notion of specializing units for different types of combat was well remembered when remolding them. The 1st Regiment Unicorn Guards became the household Unicorn defense force for Celestia's new capital city of Canterlot. The soldiers in the 1st were trained heavily in defensive magic, creating forcefields, restraining enemies, and general defense. The other Unicorns in the military were divided up and placed with two new regiments, the 1st Royal Grenadiers and the 1st Royal Fusiliers. These two new regiments specialized in powerful and accurate attacks, the grenadiers for close-range combat, and the fusiliers specializing in sending bolts of destructive magical energy over long distances with such precision that they became the only non-pegasus unit to adopt a lightning bolt as part of their crest.

Over the next 500 years, the military grew as the population of Equestria increased by leaps and bounds. It was a period of relative peace and prosperity, and with peace and prosperity in a country comes an explosion of its population. As the two great wars ended, new lands were opened to the west and the south, and new towns began to spring up almost weekly. As these new generations of ponies reached adulthood, many of them heard the clarion call of glorious military service, while others saw it as an easy job and a few bits to live on.

By the time of the Dragon Crisis of 1750, the population of Equestria was approaching 1.2 million. On the military, this had quite a bearing, and the number of separate regiments had grown impressively. There were now eight regiments of dragoons, three regiments of lancers, three Hussar regiments, one regiment of Chasseurs, and ten other cavalry units calling themselves Cuirassiers. In addition, there were eight 200 pony regiments of pegasi by this time, and of the unicorns, there were now three regiments of Grenadiers, and four of Fusiliers.

The problem with the Dragons arose during a dispute over the borders shared between Equestria and the Land of the Dragons. The area in dispute was a great plain which extended into a large fertile valley between two mountain ranges, the overall landmass being some 5,200 square miles total. The Dragons did not use the land, nor had they for centuries, but still laid claim to it. Because of bad mapmaking on the part of some royal cartographer or another, ponies had been moving into the disputed area, and it was only a matter of time before tensions reached a boiling point.

Because the land on the border was a disputed zone, both sides claimed ownership, yet neither side could prove the land was theirs. This vacuum of power caused many wealthy ponies to sieze the initiative to help their own profits. These business-minded ponies pretended to agree that the Dragons owned the land, and struck deals with them, converting their gold bits into tons of gems of much lesser value, gems being the main monetary and trade system of the Dragons. They were then able to buy enormous tracks of land from the Dragons for a chest-full of gems worth all of about 10 bits. Then, these empresarios would sell land to newly-arrived settlers at a rate the original owners could profit happily from. The Dragons allowed this to go on for some time, and even granted the wealthy empresarios even more land in exchange for more gems. Soon, the Dragons found themselves with tons of gems, but also with a disputed land full of ponies who refused to accept their authority or follow their laws. On top of this, the government of Equestria kept pushing for the Dragons to either sell the large tract of land to The Kingdom of Equestria, or give up rights to it altogether.

Late in the year 1749, the Dragons insisted that all of the ponies living in the disputed land either agree to serve under the rule of the Dragons, or leave and return to their own country. The settlers refused, and in early 1750, the Dragons mobilized to either subdue the settlers, or drive the ponies out by force. The call went out to Canterlot as to what was about to happen, and Princess Celestia sent a warning to the leader of the Dragons that if they attacked the ponies, it would be an act of war. She offered once again to purchase the embattled land from the Dragons for a then-unheard-of one million bits, and six tons of gems and precious stones. The Dragons balked at the deal, and Celestia sent in the military to position themselves outside of the border of the disputed land.

The 2nd and 3rd Dragoon Regiments, the 1st Hussars, and the 2nd Aerial Assault Wing moved in on the border to prevent a war more than to start one. There, they went into bivouac, waiting on the possibility of having to move into the disputed area and contest the Dragons. For the time being, the Dragons backed down. For the next week, Celestia stayed in constant contact with the Dragon leadership, attempting to reach a compromise. After eight days of a tense standoff on the border, the Dragons gave in, and agreed to sell the land to The Kingdom of Equestria for the amount originally offered by Princess Celestia.

The incident proved that Equestria's military could be quickly mobilized, and was ready to fight at a moment's notice. It also proved that the kingdom's military was large enough and powerful enough to be respected by neighboring countries, and the mere presence of the military could not just win a conflict, but prevent one from occurring. The new structure of the army had proven itself, and now the military was poised to continue growing in size and bettering itself through training and new innovations in weapons design.

For the next 150 years, the military expanded as more recruits signed up to fight for Equestria, or at least make a decent living _training _to fight for Equestria. By the year 1850, some units began to change their designations. The 1st Chasseurs for instance, became the 1st Royal Equestrian Cavalry, and the 3rd Royal Lancers became the 2nd Cavalry. Afterwords, the 3rd Royal Equestrian Cavalry was formed. The term 'Cavalry' became a term for any ground-based fighting force that fit somewhere in between the heavily-armored Cuirassiers and the lighter, more mobile Dragoons. This philosophy held out until the year 1889, when the 7th and 8th Dragoon Regiments were remustered as the 4th and 5th Cavalry Regiments, and the 2nd Lancers, seeing the inevitability of the shrinking rainbow of cavalry-esque organizations, became the 11th, 12th and 13th Cuirassiers. The 1st Lancers and the Hussars held out for another 135 years before being remustered as cavalry.

The Unicorn regiments changed very little in this time, only adding another regiment of fusiliers, bringing the total number of these long-range units up to five. Two more regiments of grenadiers were added, bringing the total number of grenadier regiments up to five as well. Ironically, the Grenadiers and Fusiliers were not only the smallest in number of total regiments and ponies, but because of the specialized nature of their units, these "regiments" were never designed to be fielded as full-strength military units. Instead, the unicorn regiments were each further divided up into six "companies" of fifty four ponies, and often placed with cavalry regiments or assigned to military garrisons. Beyond this, the companies were often even further divided into eight "batteries" of six unicorns and a first or second lieutenant. It was these smaller field batteries of Unicorns who saw service in the smaller outposts and garrisons on the borders, and on the frontier during the Buffalo Wars.

The Pegasi at this point in history had added another Aerial Assault Wing and an additional Reconnaissance Wing to their number, and the special operations wing of the Pegasi was officially adopted. Shortly after the banishment of Princess Luna, a celebration was held at the new palace in Canterlot to commemorate a new age of peace in Equestria. A small squadron of the 2nd Legion known for their flying prowess and outlandish techniques, performed for the Princess and her entourage. This small unit was branded with the nickname of "The Wonderbolts". Though not an official military unit, the squadron became well-known for stunt flying, as well as its military prowess. In 1852, The Wonderbolts became a stand-alone military unit, the first true special operations unit in the Equestrian military. In 1702, Commander Easyglider, an early Wonderbolts commander, created a complete repertoire of formations and maneuvers that are still in use today. The only real changes that were made to the Wonderbolts after they became a separate military entity were that the rank of the overall commander of the squad was changed from General to Admiral, and the unit was given distinctive albeit originally uncomfortable uniforms of blue and gold. Sixty years later in 1917, the ranking officer's title was changed back to General, and so the tenth commander of the Wonderbolts, Admiral Flash, became General Flash, an unusual transition in any military. Shortly after, a new uniform was adopted, a skin tight flight suit that changed very little over the next hundred years.

Between 1850 and 1900, the population of Equestria continued to grow, as did the military. Princess Celestia authorized the formation of new regiments of cavalry as settlers streamed into the west and south, the domain of less-than-friendly native inhabitants. This was a period in history where there was a revival of sorts in history and literature, and many ponies rushed to fill the ranks of the Cuirassiers, swelling the number of these units to 40. Of these, the 39th Cuirassier Regiment proved to be one of the hardest-fighting units in the regular army, earning distinction and fame in multiple engagements during border clashes from 1865 to present day. This unit was one of the only regiments of Cuirassiers who succeeded in acting out the glorious image set by the founders of the (some say) anachronistic units.

By 1985, the remainder of the cavalry units in Equestria began to transition to "true" cavalry. The 2nd Dragoons became the 6th Cavalry Regiment, and the next year, the 1st Dragoons, the famed unit which had originally been the Royal Guard Cavalry, the oldest military unit in Equestria, became the 7th Cavalry Regiment. The 1st Lancers finally hung up their beloved spears and were redesignated the 8th Royal Equestrian Cavalry in 1986, and the Royal Hussars soon followed suit, becoming the 9th. The 10th and 11th Cavalry were formed in 1988, and the following year, members of the 1st, 3rd and 6th Cavalry whose terms of enlistments were up formed the 12th Royal Equestrian Cavalry. Probably as a matter of having enough cavalry units more than fear of bad luck, there was never to be a 13th Regiment of Cavalry.

As the end of this era in military history approached, the Equestrian military had finally reached its modern permutation, and in at least structure and form, has not changed to this day. It was only the return of Princess Luna, and the subsequent reformation of the Royal Government that had any real impact upon the military in terms of hierarchy. However, the frontier wars were still in full swing, and at least a few of the existing units would get a trial-by-fire in the crucible of the Buffalo Wars.

_I hope you all liked this chapter. I will make every attempt to have the next up tomorrow evening. There is only to be one more chapter, then this fic will be wrapped up. Hopefully, I'll be able to start another fic soon, I'll make no promises, but I know you want to see more of Drake. Anyway, thanks for reading. Please send me reviews, everypony._


	4. Chapter 4: Buffalo Wars-A Trial By Fire

**CHAPER 4: The Buffalo Wars-A Trial by Fire**

_I'm back with chapter four, everypony. Listening to "Some Nights" and some of the more morose songs from Greenday's American Idiot album, and MCR's The Black Parade. So is my mood right now. This may be the last chapter of this little pseudo-history, but hopefully not of the entire Drake anthology. I've received multiple PM's and a review all asking for more Drake Chronicles. As I said before, there is literally an entire collection of volumes and short stories written out and ready to be published, but they involve certain OC's in Drake's family who are real-life people in my own family. Because of unforeseen and tumultuous issues brought about by the vicissitudes of this Hell called life, we both decided it would be better to wait to publish these volumes until it remains a fargone conclusion that these immense upheavals will not seek to destroy precisely the manner of relationship between us our two OC's enjoy, and leave us both with an unpleasant literary reminder of that which was, and that which could have been. Forging forth then, here is chapter 4 of Drake's military history. Enjoy and Review._

The Buffalo Wars began the moment the first pony set hoof in the ancient land of the Buffalo tribes. For centuries, the natives of the western and southwestern territories had lived a life of semi-nomadic foraging. Through almost constant battle with neighboring tribes and the nature of the harsh and unforgiving environment in which they lived, the Buffalo were and still are a hardy, fierce and steadfast race of warriors. Once ponies began to settle in their domain, the Buffalo turned every ounce of their martial ability upon the pioneer ponies. To protect the settlers, the Equestrian government requested the army build a series of forts in the frontier lands, roughly a day's walk apart.

The first and better known of these frontier garrisons was Fort Defiance. The fort itself was built in the year 1870 as the first permanent garrison of Equestrian Military in the frontier. The purpose was for a show of force, a trump card that would prove to the Buffalo that the ponies weren't to be trifled with. Showing the army to the enemy had worked during the standoff with the Dragons, and kept peace on the borders, but little did command know the Buffalo were no so easily bluffed. Two years after the construction of Fort Defiance, the Buffalo of the Southern Band attacked a patrol of cavalry three miles from the front gate of the fort. This embarrassed and outraged Major Minor, the commander of the fort, who promptly demanded a full garrison.

By the summer of 1873, there were five companies of the 2nd Royal Equestrian Cavalry and Company A of the 7th Royal Dragoons, along with a small number of armed civilians living inside the fort. This proved to be a logistical problem. The original fort had been built to house up to three companies. It had now become very overcrowded. The garrison added onto the fort starting in 1874, and by 1876, Fort Defiance had grown into a much larger outpost. It had nearly doubled in size, and now became a small settlement unto itself.

Fort Sweetwater was built in 1874 to house a single company of the 2nd Cavalry. The 3rd Company, Royal Engineers, instead of pacing off the distance from Fort Defiance, instead set out from the east with a poorly drawn map, and ended up constructing the fort almost four days' walk from the main garrison. They could not take down the fort and rebuild, so the cavalry decided to make do with what they had, and recommended to new settlers that they build around the small garrison, where they could be protected. The small fort became a settlement, and the small settlement became a small town, Sweetwater, named after the fort in 1887.

Fort Green was constructed in the winter of 1881-82, a day and a half's walk southwest of fort Defiance. As Fort Defiance was quickly becoming a center of trade and social gathering in the frontier, Fort Green struggled to maintain supply and morale as the troopers of companies G and F of the 2nd Cavalry found themselves in one of the most isolated forts in the new territories. The only fort more removed from the trade centers and supply lines in the east was Fort Dragoon, twenty miles to the west of Fort Defiance. Housing companies B, C and D of the 7th Dragoons, the fort was actually positioned on the Western Border of Equestria, and served the Dual purpose of protecting the frontier from marauding Buffalo, as well as guarding the border from any invasion.

During this time, the Buffalo were not quiet and submissive. Attacks against settlers and even cavalry patrols occurred almost monthly. The Buffalo chiefly targeted settlers, whom they perceived as an invading force. Their method of warfare was swift and brutal, especially the Buffalo of the Southern Band. Normally, the Buffalo would attack at night in large numbers of up to 30 warriors. They would descend on a farm or settlement as quickly as possible, and raid, taking food and supplies, before killing the ponies and usually setting fire to houses and barns.

As the War progressed, the attacks became more severe and more brutal. By 1950, the Buffalo had begun a terror tactic of mutilating their slain enemies, and taking scalps as war trophies. They had taken scalps before the Buffalo Wars when fighting rival tribes, but this was a matter of honor, proof a warrior had killed a great warrior or well-known enemy. Against the ponies, the practice of scalping became a macabre way to show how many ponies a warrior had slain in battle. Scalping and mutilation, combined with a rise in attacks frightened the settlers and angered the military, who set about attempting a more complete containment of the territories.

Fort Mesquite was constructed in 1979 to bridge the gap between forts Defiance and Sweetwater, and to help observe and control the movements of hostile Buffalo bands in the area. A small outpost, Fort Mesquite was built to house only a single squad of cavalry, originally a detachment of the 1st Dragoons. When the 1st Dragoons became the 7th Cavalry in 1985, the small garrison held the fort for a few more months before being transferred. They were relieved by a 30 pony detachment from Company A of the 2nd Royal Equestrian Cavalry until the year 2005, when the entire frontier army was revamped.

The main cause of this restructure of the frontier forces was the massacre of three companies of the 7th Cavalry under the command of Lt. Col. Custard in 1992. The 7th had been tasked with tracking down a large party of hostile Buffalo who had raided a settlement and killed five settlers. Lt. Col. Custard took six companies of the 7th Cavalry and gave chase. After two weeks of following the enemy Buffalo, they came upon the Buffalo encampment. Custard split his forces, sending three companies with Major Ringgold to the east, while Custard took three companies to the west, attempting to sandwich the Buffalo in between two forces of cavalry. Unfortunately, Major Ringgold's force was attacked before he could reach his position, and drawn into a lengthy battle. Custard, unwilling to wait and impatient to attack, or possibly either underestimating enemy numbers or overestimating his own troopers, charged into the encampment. There, 250 troopers met with 400 Buffalo warriors and 200 additional Buffalo willing to fight for their lives. Custard's contingent was forced into a headlong retreat, and tried to hold a small rise nearby. The troopers of the three companies fought valiantly, but within an hour, they were all killed, including Custard himself.

In the spring of 2005, The 12th Royal Equestrian Cavalry, made up of many members of units who had fought on the frontier, along with the 7th Cavalry, who had been active up to that point further north were chosen as the key units to form a new type of task force for the job of policing the wild and wooly frontier. Companies A through G of the 12th Cavalry, and Companies A and B of the 7th, along with Company A of the 6th Royal Unicorn Grenadiers and C Squadron of the 2nd Aerial Reconnaissance Wing were joined together under the title of "2nd Frontier Battalion" The 1st Frontier Battalion was a new unit serving in the Northern Territories, and it was felt that a similar approach could be used in the west. Fort Defiance became the official headquarters for the large force, and the soldiers within the command were stationed at the outposts and forts throughout the frontier.

Peace talks were conducted between 2005 and 2012 between the Army and the Buffalo chiefs and leaders, resulting in a cessation of hostilities with the Northern Band and the Chokeberry Tribes, as well as several smaller bands to the west. Some tribes agreed to work in tandem with the ponies, and others began to settle down and start farms and homesteads of their own. Unfortunately, several other tribes refused peace, including the Southern band and its allies, who remained openly hostile to the cavalry and the settlers. This hostility was to result in a final dark day for the cavalry, and the ultimate end of the hostile bands.

In the year 2012, the frontier Battalion suffered its second-greatest tragedy when over 20 troopers of the 12th Cavalry stationed at Fort Mesquite were killed in a failed attack similar to Custard's ill-fated charge. In the following months, the 7th Cavalry, along with companies of the 12th Cavalry began a policy of no quarter, and swept through the frontier, putting to the sword any Buffalo who would not declare peace. Since 2014, the frontier has been relatively quiet, with all remaining Buffalo tribes in alliance with the ponies, or at least restrained by peace treaties.

The Buffalo Wars, along with the return of Discord, the God of Chaos, and several small raids into Equestria by small outside forces once again showed a need for highly mobile forces that could respond to the worst of situations and conduct the type of hit-and-run guerrilla warfare that had become the vogue among small nations, armies and organizations. In the year 1985, when the army was transitioning from dragoon to cavalry, another unit was developed within the Equestrian Military: The Special Forces. Officially known as Royal Equestrian Special Operations Command, this establishment began as a single company of commandos trained in guerrilla warfare, wilderness survival, sabotage, assassination and lightning-fast raids into enemy territory.

By 1990, RESOC had become a joint military organization made up of some ten independent companies combined into the 1st Special Forces Regiment. Though officially a regiment, there is little command oversight in the companies. In fact, the commandos are trained to fight in six to eight pony squads. Each company was tailor-fitted for specific types of operations, including hostage rescue, training guerrillas in other lands, reconnaissance, waterborne assaults, airborne assaults and antiterror operations. Placed under the command of Princess Luna and positioned throughout Equestria in squads ready to mobilize at a moment's notice, these elite ponies continue to remain as mysterious as they are intimidating.

The Covert Operations Lethal Tactics Squad, known as the COLT commandos is one such unit known for their prowess in unconventional warfare. Masters of camouflage, and skilled at tracking and fighting in almost any environment, these elite soldiers are hoof-picked from the ranks of other Special Forces units. Little is known about their training techniques or operational history, but the unit, which is comprised of a juxtapose of Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns and Bat Ponies, is heralded only as Equestria's last line of defense, and the shadow warriors who belong to the COLT commandos are all bachelors, widowers and orphans.

The Royal Equestrian Military today is vastly different from the armored and knightly warriors who were the first ponies to defend the fledgling nation over 2000 years ago. As the nation changed, the military had to change with it. As warfare continually changed through the centuries, the military had to constantly gallop to keep up until it became the largest, and most professional army in the world. What does the future hold for the soldiers of Equestria? Time can only tell, but it seems that at least for the time being, The Royal Equestrian Military has done what every group of warriors has attempted to do from the dawn of time; become the living embodiment of martial ability and battlefield perfection. By not just brute force, but inspired intellect have we achieved this, and because of that mixture of strength tempered with will and intelligence, this author does not think we will be loosing that image anytime soon.

-1st Lt. Dragoon Sabre

Royal Equestrian Cavalry

_So marks the end of Drake's 'A Brief History of the Equestrian Military'. Did you all enjoy this? I hope so, and I hope you all can patiently wait alongside me to see if Drake's saga can continue. Please leave your comments in the form of reviews or PM's. Thanks for reading._

_I dedicate this fic to my little girl, Budder. Don't give up the ship, angel. Remember the Texans at the Alamo, the British at Rourke's Drift and the Spartans at Thermopylae. _


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